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Archive for November 1st, 2009

A red hat! Designed for the desert! I have a little visor to keep the sun off of my nose and forehead, and it’s a bright enough color for Clark to find me if we get separated someplace crowded.

I do this sometimes, wear a bright, improbable color, when it comes to crowd situations. The first time I visited Japan, on my very first day, my husband (then my college boyfriend) took me to Tokyo Big Sight for the Comiket. The Comiket is the world’s largest Doujinshi convention and attracts abouthalf a million people each year. I had no idea what Comiket was or how many people would be there when I agreed to go. On my first day in Japan. Ever.

So, when we arrived we waited in a field in a block of oh…about 20,000 people waiting for there to be room in the building for us. When we were finally allowed to go in, we walked as a giant mass of people. And that’s all I could see: people, people, people. There was a massive staircase and people moved up it by the thousands, undulating like a wave. Inside was not much better. I don’t think I saw one piece of art through the thick, jostling crowd.

Luckily, I decided to wear a eye-bleedingly neon green striped sweater, so each time the crowd split us apart Clark was able to follow the green glow and find me again. So, we were separated again and again but each time he was able to find me, grab my shoulder or my hand, and eventually guide me to the other side of the convention center and out into the blessed, less crowded parts of Tokyo.

As a lesson from that day I tend to try to wear things that will help him find me if we go somewhere crowded. Cairo is crowded, I believe, so I think it will be a good idea to keep this hat handy.